Have there been any professional reviews of the RLX's Krell audio system yet? Have there been any comparisons of Krell to Lexus' Mark Levinson system?

 

I've only seen teh rehasehed press releases and interviews with Acura and Krell. There was that short first listen from Sound and Vision that did not say much. I doubt you will find a published comparison review of Krell and ML.

If you get a chance compare the two back to back on the same source material; post what you find. FWIW, I didn't think the ML in my old GS that special. It really shined on DVD-A material.

 

^^^^ Agree. First time I heard ML, I did not believe the car I was test driven had it. Kept asking the salesman was he sure this car had ML system and he said yes. I was disappointed.

 

We have the Krell version on our RLX. Blows away our 2006 RL system. Really like the hard drive in the system for storing all our CD's also.

 

Anybody have any experience comparing the Krell to an ELS system?

 

Can you please give us a little more contrast between the two systems. Is the bass much cleaner, how is the imaging?

What in-home system do you compare it to?

 

The Krell system is significantly superior to the ELS system. I did comparisons with my TL Tech/AWD using a CD and a DTS CD. The sub is cleaner, imaging is better and and it has a much cleaner sound.

My former MDX had an aftermarket professionally installed A/V system using Boston Acoustics speakers/sub, including the Z6 speakers in the doors (about $1k each) and Alpine electronics. The Krell system is in the same league for sound quality.

My home theatre uses Bowers and Wilkins CM series speakers and Denon electronics.

 

Much more precise and clear sound. Imaging is much better and bass sounds like bass, not that boomy subwoofer sound the EL system had. This is very precise.

I have a Definitive Technology home system and the Krell sounds very comparable.

 

I hear things in my music with the Krell that I don't hear in my Bose headphones or through the Bose sound dock, especially in the higher frequencies. I am blown away!

 

It's not a professional review but I do have a good deal of experience with audio systems:

http://www.satoauto.com/acura-cars/2...tstanding.html

 

I'm starting to look forward to another test drive...

 

You know the old saying, No highs No lows, must be Bloz....

 

Have you ever heard their famous Bose 901 direct reflecting speaker without the equalizer? It is virtually unlistenable.

 

I have a 2006 RL with the Bose, and spent an hour in the new rlx just listening to the krell audio sytem. I am very picky about sound quality.

I listened to all kinds of music, and adjusted audio settings. The krell system is, without question, inferior to the Bose in the mid bass and sub bass range. The base sounded flat, and didnt have as much kick as the Bose system. The Krell had clearer sound in the higher frequency range, but not by much.

To be honest, I was disappointed with the krell as I had high hopes for it with all the hype it had. To my ears, the Bose sounds AMAZING, and I was expecting the krell to blow it out of the water. Don't get me wrong, its still a great sounding system, but I would still take the bose anyday.

 

This is very unfortunate. Does the RLX excel at anything?

 

I listened to the RL Bose system in May, 2009 when I traded in my 1G MDX Touring. The MDX Touring had an OEM Bose system that was very poor in sound quality. It sounded like the speakers were under water. I had planned to trade for a RL and auditioned its Bose system. Although somewhat better than the MDX Bose system it was still poor quality. It was a deal breaker for me and a main reason why I bought the 2009 TL SH-AWD Tech instead of the RL. That ELS system was far superior to the Bose.

Bose uses electronic gimmickry to trick the brain that you are hearing a high quality system. A discerning listener will catch that after a few minutes.

I prefer sound that is close as possible to the original studio and/or concert. Bose can't do that. It lacks any faithful reproduction of the original sound recording across all frequencies.

I auditioned the RLX Krell system at length using DTS CDs. It is far superior to any Bose system and to the ELS. It came very close to my MDX aftermarket system, that was built around Boston Z6 speakers and sub plus Alpine electronics and full vehicle Dynamatting. Granted, sound quality is guided by personal preference, but I would argue any audiophile would pick the RLX Krell over the RL Bose.

 

I guess I need to test drive the audio system. Hopefully, I can find an Acura dealership that can let me just sit in the car and listen.

 

When I listened to the Krell I was impressed with how tight the sound was compared to other car audio I have heard.

My guess is you are hearing the true lows in the Krell, Bose and many other makers tend to have boomy lows. I went through this with my home theater years ago. Growing up and listening to lows a certain way then you experience true accurate tight bass and your first reaction is the lows are lacking. I have heard some similar comments about the B&O in the Audi A6, people are used to the lows the Bose in the Audi makes then they feel the B&O lacks punch.

 

Funny you mention that. I have an original set, my grandfather worked for Bell Labs and his specialty was acoustics, including quadrophonic sets.

 

...at criticism

 

Be careful to drain its amazing battery

PS....sorry for forgetting to do the multiple quotes.....I know how to use it.

 

Sir you have many hatesr here from your comment. I am a long time audiophile and Krell owner for my home system. I have 30K invested in it. I happened to agree with your comments about the RL car audio. Putting aside how Bose produce their music, the Rl audio was superb to my ears. The bass being very tight and natural. I found the Krell system in the RLX to be a bit soft in the mid bass. In fact I was surprised by this, as this is NOT the case in my home system. To this day, one of the best OEM sound systems I have heard was in a older model Audi 8. It happed to have a high powered Bose system. The very low base made my pants flutter, just like my home system. I was impressed.

 

I don't see why anyone would 'hate' for a difference of opinion. My beef with the RLX Krell system is not that there isn't enough bass, but that there are too much highs. I was primarily comparing the ELS to the Krell in my post, I'd need to listen to the old RL again with the same source to comment in greater detail. From memory, I do believe the Bose puts out more bass, but also rolls off the highs a bit.

 

Words that will never come out of my mouth....I love the highs. That would be the equivalent to someone telling me "she is too blond" - Again, no such thing *lol*

I do understand that music setting is so subjective but I love pushing my treble off the chart.

 

I ran across this review of the Krell system in the RLX and I thought i would pass it along. I an not an audiophile and haven't yet heard the Krell system to form my own opinion. For what it is worth.....


http://www.technologytell.com/in-car...-audio-system/


Of Shakespeare’s the Tempest, Mets’ Heavy Metal, and the Acura RLX audio system
Brett Solomon

I am going to go the long way around to tie everything together in my story title together. Krell acuraThis week, I am reviewing the Acura RLX. It is the flagship Acura, and to let the cat out of the bag, the NVH levels (or lack of them) are superb. This is one of the most comfortable long-range highway cruisers out there. Since when did Acura build a Grand Tourer? Moreover, it does so with decent fuel economy (I’m getting around 25 MPG).

Back to the story… So Shakespeare writes The Tempest. And that play became the impetus for the 1950s sci-fi thriller Forbidden Planet. That movie features an advanced race of people known as The Krell. And that leads us to the audio system in the 2013 RLX.

I first encountered Krell through catcher Mike Piazza of the New York Mets years ago. For those of you who do not know, Mike’s knowledge of obscure heavy metal borders on OCD, and he could give Eddie Trunk www.eddietrunk.com a run for his money. But Mike appreciates nuance along with raw power. He discovered Krell amplification.

Krell has been around since 1980, and you can read the glowing reviews through the years in Stereophile and other high-end hi-fi buff books. But now Krell has decided to make the jump into the automotive world, and the Acura RLX is the first time the company has partnered with an automaker. The system is relatively simple. A set of expensive-looking woofers mounted in the lower doors, a tweeter on the sail panel, a center channel, another set of speakers in the rear doors, and an 8″ subwoofer. Kudos to Krell for figuring out that simple is better to achieve realistic sound in a vehicle. The amplifiers have been designed and hot-rodded by Krell. And the expensive-looking speaker grilles are worth the price of admission. The package goes for about $2000.

Because of economies of scale, there is no way you are going to able to touch audio performance like that for $2000 in the aftermarket. All of the tuning details have been painstakingly adjusted by Krell to work specifically in the RLX. So how does it sound? Tonally, it is magnificent. There is a clear, coherent center image, but the soundstage is a bit narrow. However, I cannot blame Krell entirely. Acura had to give them specific real-estate to work with as far as speaker placement. Separating the woofer from the tweeter typically narrows the soundstage and makes weird things happen because of unequal path-length differences. But if this system were designed with kick-panel mounting locations from the get-go, it would be untouchable. But that would encroach on passenger comfort. Acura is going after the luxury segment. So someone misses out. But, if you are looking to get audiophile quality sound without leaving your vehicle at the best car audio store in town for a week, check out the Acura RLX with the Krell system.

 

Haha, we know that sensativity to highs rolls off with ... um.... age. Maybe I'll grow into a brighter sound in the coming years. LOL. BTW, I found this excerpt from CNet:

 

I am hard of hearing but in my RLX Advanced with the Krell all sounds (music / voice) are great. I'm just not sure how to balance (Back seat - Front seat) it?

 

I had a couple Lexus Models (ES350) and wanted the Mark Levinson system (ML) but the dealer never had the ML in any for sale. I now have the RLX Advanced with Krell and really like the system (I am hard of hearing in both ears but can hear the Krell very well) - My one disappointment is that the system only holds one (1) CD / DVD and will not record my DVD-HDS (DTS) disk to the Hard Drive - Mike Landon

 

I love the Krell System in my RLX Advanced because of the clear and distinct sound (I am hard of hearing) - I'm thinking of replacing my Polk speakers at home driven by a Yahama RX-A3010 amplifier with Martin Logan Motion speakers - Would the Martin Logan speakers sound anything like the Krell speakers? - Mike Landon

 

Mike,
To balance between front and rear go to Settings > Audio Settings > Sound

Scroll through the choices to Fader and this will balance between front and rear speakers

Pg 207 of Owners Manual.

 

I've been a professional mixing engineer and producer for over 20+ years and I can tell you the Krell in the RLX is by far one of the best sound systems I've heard in a car in years. Frequency response and imaging are huge when it comes to mixing a song in the studio and having accurate transfers from the studio to consumer playback systems like a car is always a focal point of mixing a track. And the Krell system in the RLX does really really well at reproducing an accurate and natural response of a mix across a variety of styles of music.

I've tried everything from 80's hard rock, to experimental electronica, to late 70's funk, to improv jazz, to classical, to film scores, to pop and everything just sounds right.

What I will say is the system does require a little bit of tuning to get things to balance right, including what the other poster already mentioned, rolling the highs off a little bit. The treble at full settings does come through a bit too bright. The sub also needs to be dialed in properly to get a proper flat response across the board so that you hear songs for how they were naturally mixed (not boosting or cutting frequencies by too much).

I'll post a pic of my settings sometime tomorrow.

 

^^ Now I want to go out to a car and see where I would set them! LOL, I'm guessing that -1 or -2 clicks on treble, and +2 on sub gain but leaving the bass EQ flat should work well.